title: Reporter transgenic mouse models highlight the dual endocrine and neural facet of GnRH receptor function.
abstract: In the pituitary of mammals, the GnRH receptor (GnRHR) plays crucial roles in the neuroendocrine control of reproductive function. This receptor is specifically expressed by the gonadotrope cells scattered among the five other endocrine cell types constituting the anterior pituitary; it is also expressed in other organs, such as the gonads and brain where its function is not well defined. To gain insight into GnRHR function, distribution, and regulation, several transgenic approaches have been developed using a range of reporter genes under the control of the mouse, rat, or ovine GnRHR gene (Gnrhr) promoters. Comprehensive reviews of the literature, together with recent results obtained in our laboratory, illustrate how these transgenic models highlight the endocrine as well as the neural facet of GnRHR function. In this review, the endocrine aspect will be discussed with regard to the pituitary and gonad function, whereas the neural aspect will be discussed with regard to hippocampal formation and the oculomotor pathway, the latter constituting an unpreviously described site of Gnrhr promoter activity. These approaches should help elucidate the properties of the mammalian GnRH system.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-Diderot Paris 7, Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, Physiologie de l'Axe Gonadotrope, Paris, France. anne-laure.schang@univ-paris-diderot.fr
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Schang
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Counis
authors.forename: Solange
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Magre
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bleux
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granger
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ngô-Muller
authors.forename: Marie-Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chenut
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishaq
authors.forename: Joelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen-Tannoudji
authors.forename: Jean-Noël
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Laverrière
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004702:Endocrine Glands / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D023421:Models, Animal; D011966:Receptors, LHRH / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011966:Receptors, LHRH